


words fall out

by vriskacircuit (oogenesis)



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Coming Out, Gen, bisexual marco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 22:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17010711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oogenesis/pseuds/vriskacircuit
Summary: Marco spills the beans.





	words fall out

**Author's Note:**

> hello i am a little weird in the head right now since i've just spent like an hour in DEEP hyperfocus on various animorphs fics that have left me feeling a little disconnected from reality like what happens when you get very absorbed into something really emotionally intense and, yknow, animorphs, so i have spontaneously decided to post this fic that i wrote like three years ago but it feels longer, i haven't even looked at the text of it since i'm embarrassed of my old writing, when i feel more grounded in reality i might delete it, or rewrite it to match my current writing style, or just fix the formatting errors that might be in there since i copy-pasted it without looking. thank you

When they're talking about star trek and Jake says something about Kirk and Uhura's relationship, and Marco hesitates a fraction too long before saying with forced casualness, "yeah, uhura's great, but if i were kirk I'd much sooner go in for spock," it takes a while for Jake to fully comprehend.

Then he sees the way Marco's fingers have knitted themselves together on the table, the tension in his shoulders just peeking out from beneath the forced casualness, and the way he's avoiding eye contact, and - oh ? Oh.

Well.

Jake is struggling to process this sudden shift in his entire comprehension of his best friend, not to mention the implications, but he's pretty sure the thing to do is show how you don't care about the person's sexuality, you still like them for who they are, right? So he says, "Spock, though? He's an alien, couldn't Kirk go for, say -" He casts around for a male alternative. " - McCoy, or -"

"Look, Jake," says Marco, more serious than usual, and Jake decides to shut up for the moment. "I just came out to you, my best friend, and might I add that I've never done this before, so it's kind of a big deal for me. Just a little bit." He's making eye contact again, and the usual sardonic look on his face is tempered with obvious worry. "What I'm saying is, you don't have to pretend to act casual about it."

"Right," says Jake, and tries to think what to do. The food court bustles around them, shiny white and echoing in the way that malls do. "So, you're gay -"

"Bisexual," says Marco, his voice just low enough not to project past their table. "I still like girls. Also, not so loud."

"Right. Bisexual," amends Jake hastily. Marco's fingers are still white with tension on the table. He decides to be up front. "What am I supposed to say?"

Marco shrugs. "I don't know. Probably that I'm still your best friend and you'll always accept me for who I am, and then the music swells and we bro hug it out? End video, this has been a public service announcement on tolerance, lights up, all right class, any thoughts?" 

"Look, you don't have to be cynical, it's true," says Jake. "You still are my best friend, and I do accept you for who you are." He feels rather out of his depth.

"Well, looks like we've got that cleared up," says Marco, and returns to his fries with a casualness that still looks feigned.

Jake feels like this conversation isn't over. "I'm not going to be... weird about it, if that's what you're thinking," he says. His mind races to find some concrete example. "Um, I'm not going to start asking you if you have a crush on me or -"

Marco makes a very weird, somewhat derisive-sounding noise at the back of his throat.

"What?" says Jake, then, oh, well, this is not something he's prepared to deal with, even less than the previous revelation. An uncomfortable warmth is beginning to creep over him.

"Relax," says Marco. "Had, past tense. I got over it." He examines a french fry in a way that suggests he's also examining his next words. "Wasn't easy, I can tell you that."

"Right," says Jake again, now about 500 feet out of his depth. Some part of him is trying to remember the signs, there must have been signs, but he's pretty sure he'll have to let the news really sink in before he can reevaluate his own memories like that. Anyway, isn't that invasive or something? He really has no idea. He really should say something to get them out of this potentially dangerous area of conversation. "Anyway, I'm not going to tell anyone else."

"Well, that's a start," says Marco.

"No need to sound so rude."

"I'm a bit stressed right now, if you hadn't noticed."

"But it's over with," says Jake, trying to sound reassuring. "You, you came out to me -" and it's still so weird associating those words with his best friend "- and I don't have a problem with it. There's no more reason to be stressed."

Marco shrugs. "Well, I mean, I had to psych myself up for it a decent amount, and that's not going to just go away immediately." Then he meets Jake's eyes, and there's that familiar edge of steel in his gaze, piercing and perceptive. "Besides, you say you don't have a problem, and maybe you believe that's true. But I can't be sure of that just yet, can I?"

Jake doesn't know how to respond, because what Marco just said makes too much sense. "I'm sorry," he finally says, and it's mostly because he can recognize the walls around the subject, the guardedness and wariness that surrounds this particular aspect of who Marco is. It must have caused him a lot of anguish.

"Don't be," says Marco briskly, and he's back to his everyday flippant self. "I mean, you'll probably screw up somewhere down the line, but out of the goodness of my heart, I forgive you in advance." He reaches across the table and pats Jake on the shoulder. "I know it's hard for straight people to understand some of these things. At least you can be counted on to try."

"Right," says Jake, a little lost.

"Anyway, where were we?" says Marco, picking up two French fries at once and dunking them in ketchup. "Right. Star Trek."

Jake can see the obvious subject change, but he goes with it anyway. "You're really saying Kirk and Spock had a thing going?"

Marco leans back in his chair and gives Jake a skeptical look. "Are you blind? Okay, listen -"

And they continue to argue over nothing, the way friends do.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. this is my side pseud for old or embarrassing fics so please consider checking out my main pseud oogenesis for stuff that is actually good, and recent, even though there is no animorphs on there. comments appreciated as always


End file.
